Many of the conventional building materials, including wood, wood composites, siding, glass, roofing, paint, insulation, flooring, foam insulation and related materials can be either flammable or present hazardous risks when in contact with extreme heat and/or fire. In addition, many of these materials are not designed to provide the high degree of insulative properties that are now in demand among consumers, as energy prices increase and temperatures fluctuate. For example, building materials used in most structures such as dwellings, commercial facilities and storage facilities include fabrication components such as wood, wood products, plastics, other synthetic materials and socalled composite materials. In addition, many of these man-made materials such as plastics, synthetics and composite materials utilize binder materials which are highly volatile when heated and which are highly flammable and, in some instances, actually explosive in character.
As a result of the pervasive and continuing use of flammable or combustible materials in construction, consumers have recognized and imperative need for protective materials which attempt to either render such materials to be flame or fire resistant or to provide a substantial improvement in heat insulation and resistive character. In addition, in high-fire risk areas and warmer climates, improved building materials that can not only resist attack by fire, but also insulate the enclosed spaces would be welcome.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,095,985 issued to Brown discloses thermal barrier compositions in which a composition is particularly adapted for coating structural surfaces to provide them with a thermal carrier to protect them from the detrimental effects of fire comprises an aqueous mixture of (a) lithium mica, (b) wollastonite, (c) aluminum trihydrate, (d) nepheline syenite, and (e) soda bicarbonate. The composition may be diluted with water to facilitate application. The composition may also contain raw vermiculite, sodium aluminum sulfate, borax, calcium sulfate, sodium silicate and other additives to improve the fireproofing, insulation and/or structural strength properties of the material.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,112,533 issued to Pope et al. discloses fire suppression compositions, which are produced by reaction of lignosulfonates with carbonate of soda to produce low-cost chemical reagents useful for fighting fires in progress or for treating flammable materials to render them non-flammable. Methods for producing the fire retardant compositions in liquid, foam or adhesive form are also disclosed.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,168,175 issued to Shutt discloses fire retardant compositions, which are generally non-caking compositions of intimately intermixed ammonium phosphate, e.g. mono and/or diammonium phosphate; sodium tetraborate containing molecularly bound water, e.g. the decahydrate, borax; and fractured finely ground solid powder particles of soda-containing silicate glass which have a high and irregular surface area and an active dry moisture absorbent surface condition for maintaining the particles of ammonium phosphate and sodium tetraborate in moisture protected disposition and for inhibiting the tendency of such particles to adhere to one another.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,515,633 issued to Cruz. Jr discloses polymeric materials combined with modified hydrated magnesium aluminosilicates, where the aluminosilicates are treated with aqueous acidic solutions and subjected to controlled agitation to convert highly porous concertina-shaped granular hydrated magnesium aluminosilicates into groups of electrolyte insensitive platelets. Water slurries of the groups of platelets when dried to form coherent, continuous sheets which when mechanically disintegrated may be reslurried in water. The modified heat exfoliated magnesium aluminosilicates are adapted for use in fire retardant, loose fill cellulose insulation, paper and pulp products, synthetic polymeric materials, coatings such as fire retardant acoustic coatings, dog foods, defoliants and the like.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,218,502 issued to Graham et al. discloses fire retardant products, such as asphalt roofing material, made fire-retardant by inclusion of a layer of intumescable hydrate soluble silicate particles. Preferred soluble silicate particles carry a protective moisture-resistant coating which increases the life of the roofing material, and also makes possible convenient manufacture of the particles. The protective coating includes a metal cation capable of reacting with the silicate ion of the core particle to form a reaction product that is less soluble than the core particle. The reaction is believed to seal any openings in the protective coating, thereby lengthening the effective life of the coating. Besides utility in roofing materials, the coated particles are useful as fire-retardant additives in many other products, including polymeric articles, sheet materials, coating compositions, etc,
U.S. Pat. No. 5,480,587 issued to Musselman et al. discloses materials that may be used as fire retardant additives that includes a discussion of a method of modifying an inorganic material which evolves gases and/or vapors at a temperature which is detrimental to the processing the temperature of polymer or paper systems, so that the modified material can be used as a fire retardant additive with that polymer or paper system. The method comprises the steps of: (1) providing a first material; (2) treating the first material to remove the portion which involves gas which is detrimental to the processing of the polymer or paper system; and (3) combining a second material with the first material to create a modified material which does not evolve gas at a temperature which is detrimental to the processing of the paper or polymer system.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,695,691 and 5,948,323 issued to McLaughlin et al. discloses flame retardants and smoke suppressing compounds, along with the methods of manufacturing them, which includes compounds that provide flame retardancy and/or smoke suppressant properties to fibers, textiles, polymeric articles, paper, paint, coating and insulation. More particularly, these compounds include colloidal-sized particles of hydrated salts, organic phosphates, metal borates, polyamides, solid halogenated flame retardants with a melting point greater than 250° C., molybdenum compounds, metallocenes, antimony compounds, zinc compounds, bismuth compounds and other solid chemicals which act as flame retardants or smoke suppressants.
Although there appear to be about as many patents and patent applications related to fire retardant compositions and additives as there are chemicals in the Merck Index, one thing is clear when reviewing the conventional art related to fire retardants and insulation materials—there is no one additive that is a) simple to manufacture, b) simple in its list of components, c) easily incorporatable into and onto a number of building materials, and d) able to function as both a fire retardant and insulator. Surprisingly, an additive has been discovered and produced that meets all of these goals and desirable attributes. This additive will be disclosed herein.